Holiday 14 (part2)

We decided to do a walk that circumnavigated Chatsworth House - the ancestral home of the Duke of Devonshire .

The rather ornate bridge leading to the House.

It was rather overcast , but a bit cooler - thank the Lord !.

The route takes you around the woods that surround the house there are a couple lakes which supply the fountains etc in the gardens , this is the 'Swiss Lake' .

A rather nice and ornate hunting lodge - with Mrs 'K' for scale .

There are a couple of cannons near the lodge. 

I think they are naval cannonades .

Looking down on Chatsworth House .

A strange looking tree - a bit 'Lord of the Ringsish'

A Victorian 'folly' 

A view of the gardens .

Another strange tree .

We did not bother to look around the house because we had Charlie with us and it was heaving with tourists! .Just as we were leaving the Fountain started up - think its the tallest in the U.K. 

We stopped off for Afternoon Tea - Charlie was tired ! - he didn't even pester for snacks !

Too be continued.....

Holiday 14 (part1)

Just back from a weeks holiday in Millers Dale in the Peak District . We normally camp in the Spring but with the dog we decided it would be easier to hire a static caravan , it was rather nice in its own secluded piece of ground .

Here we see Mrs K enjoying a burger .

Charlie enjoys a barbecue as well !

The barbecue from hell ! - it was prone to collapse at the least provocation - shedding hot ashes everywhere !

We were lucky with the weather and we got a lot of walks done . Here we are in Dove dale - famous for Issac Walton's 'Complete Angler' .

We got there early and avoided the crowds .

A Heron - posing for a photo - very obliging .

Further up the dale - the famous stepping stones.

Spires in the woodland.

Dramatic scenery and very nice weather !.

The River Dove .

We leave the Dale to complete our circular walk .

Charlie finds a plastic bucket to play with !

The Peak District at its best !.

Towards the end of the walk thing got a bit Alpine ! - here Mrs K  scales the North Col .

Charlie of course is first to the top !.

A well earned drink and rest ! . More to follow ....

Bluebells.

I've been having problems with blogger of late , Goggle now do not support Virgin .net so I have not been able to post on this and my other blogs even though I started a Google account. So I have had to copy my posts and reload them on this new site - took me a whole afternoon ! . 

There seem to be a bumper crop of bluebells this year and I took the dog for a walk through Larkrigg woods and I even remembered to take my camera.

Charlie poses obligingly for the camera - he's now one year old !.

These woods were coppiced in the Victorian era for charcoal to refine iron ore.

Saint Georges Day.

Wednesday, 23 April 2014

Saint Georges Day.

Does one wish people a 'Merry Saint Georges Day ? , I always find it a bit annoying that the rest of the U.K. make a bit thing of their saints days and the English quietly forget their own , so a 'Happy Saint Georges Day' to you all !. 

More Mounds In The Ground.

Tuesday, 22 April 2014

More Mounds In The Ground.

The weather being beautiful we decided to take the dog for a walk to Arnside , but being by the sea and it being Easter and the weather nice it was PACKED ! , nowhere to park and masses of people - so we back tracked and went to Sizergh , parked the car up and went for a walk . I even remembered to take my camera ! . Believe it or not this is the site of a 'Iron Age' or 'Romano-British settlement .

The problem with sites like this is they are -"just mounds in the ground!" as my wife put it ! and photographing them to make them look interesting is I find - hard !. You can just make out a bank running from the bottom centre upwards between the small bushes and exiting photo top left just below the horizon .

Charlie tries to look interested and give scale to the photo . It's hard to make anything of this site - it has been dug , a skeleton of 'a quite young person' being found , I think the pottery remains date it to the Iron age . Although my wife and dog were unimpressed I like this site !.

My wife and dog pose in the centre of the site , the boundary wall runs on the top of the mound behind the bush .

In the next field I came across the first cowslips I've seen this year .

A view over the Lyth Valley towards the Coniston Fells in the background , at this point my camera batteries (which had been flashing a warning for about a week !) gave out - Rats !

We Have Been Up Benson Knott.

Tuesday, 1 April 2014

We Have Been Up Benson Knott.

Benson Knott has been there as long as I can remember but I've never been up it , it can be seen on the sky line to the right of the trees as seen from our hen run . So on this particularly bright afternoon we thought we would take the dog for a walk to the summit.

There is only one footpath up to it and not that inspiring really just a up hill slog and the ground rather wet after the overnight rain and it began to feel rather warm walking .

Nice ! - a face of farming that 'Countryfile' doesn't show!.

Looking Westward towards Windermere and the Langdale Fells in the distance.

Mrs 'K' and Charlie take a rest .

Looking South to Morcambe Bay and the coast - very hazy not good for photography.

Kendal 'The Auld Grey Toon' from the summit.

Looking North towards Shap summit .

A group photo trying out the timer on the camera which was balanced on the top of the 'Trig Point', the previous one failed as the camera fell over at the crucial moment taking a photo of clouds !. Well that's one of my modest 'To Do When I Retire' list ticked off.